Archive for the 'Animal Welfare' Tag Under 'OC Watchdog' Category

The former owner of a Stanton reptile store that was shut down in 2009 as unsanitary is getting something extra in his stocking this month:

A lawsuit seeking $106,349, which is what county animal services says it spent on his impounded reptiles and rodents.

The county filed suit this week for the money, the cost of caring for 442 animals for a three-month period ending in February 2010. Most of the treatable animals were adopted out or sent to rescue organizations. The others were euthanized, according to the animal care agency.

According to the lawsuit, Christopher Rayburn, owner of Radical Reptiles, was given at least three warnings to correct unsanitary conditions at his store before it was finally shut down by the county Nov. 9, 2009.

"The majority of the animals appeared in poor health, dehydrated and underweight due to lack of available water," the suit said. "Heat lamps were not turned on. Rats and mice were cannibalizing."

"I think it is vitally important that you inform your readers that the various SPCA organizations all over the USA are NOT in any way related or affiliated," she told us by email. "Each SPCA organization is completely independent and unique. The ASPCA is in fact a New York charity that enables the illusion that they are a country-wide organization. That being said, the Orange County SPCA is supported entirely by local volunteers who are a very committed bunch of people. They have one major fundraising "event" every year called the Walk for the Animals which takes months of volunteer work to prepare. And there are various smaller fundraising and awareness campaigns throughout the year, and all of them are entirely supported by volunteers."

So the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

It doesn't say it only applies to humans. So, might it apply to killer whales trained to douse yelping tourists with lots of water?

"In the first case of its kind, PETA, three marine-mammal experts, and two former orca trainers are filing a lawsuit asking a federal court to declare that five wild-caught orcas forced to perform at SeaWorld are being held as slaves in violation of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," the animal rights group announced Tuesday.

"The filing—the first ever seeking to apply the 13th Amendment to nonhuman animals—names the five orcas as plaintiffs and also seeks their release to their natural habitats or seaside sanctuaries."

Of the 13,000 dogs impounded in 2010, nearly 5,000 of them -- 40 percent -- were pit bulls or Chihuahuas.

"This is an astounding number for only two dog breeds," said Ryan Drabek, the new director of Orange County Animal Care, in an email. "Both breeds require very patient owners that are willing to put in a lot of extra time and effort to ensure proper behavior training (really, this should be the case with ALL pet owners). However, both breeds can be very difficult to adopt due to temperament issues."

But the personality-plus little guys can make great pets, who fit nicely in purses even, and the shelter's "Choose your Chihuahua" adoption event in October found homes for 28 of them.

The good news is that the number of cats impounded at the Orange County animal shelter in 2010 dropped nearly 18 percent since hitting an all-time high in 2008.

And the number that had to be euthanized dropped nearly 15 percent as well.

The sad news is that, even so, more than three out of every four kitties who entered the shelter didn't leave alive. Nearly 76 percent were euthanized in 2010 -- up a tick from 75 percent the year before.

Feral cats, and tiny kittens, comprise the overwhelming majority of the felines that had to be put down. Ryan Drabek, the new director of Orange County Animal Care, has started tracking some of the trends associated with euthanasia:

The total number of animals impounded at the shelter in 2010 was down nearly 17 percent from 2008 (31,492 to 26,253).

The total number animals euthanized was down more than 10 percent (15,265 to 13,675).

The chances of an impounded animal finding a family grew. In 2008, 34.7 percent of impounded animals were adopted out; in 2010, it was 40.7 percent. (The actual number of adoptions was down in 2010 compared to 2008, but that makes sense, as there are fewer animals to adopt out when there are fewer animals taken in.)

A mounting body of evidence points to a link between animal abuse "and serious crimes of more narrowly human concern, including illegal firearms possession, drug trafficking, gambling, spousal and child abuse, rape and homicide," the New York Times Magazine reports today.

In an interesting - if also deeply disturbing - piece, the Times reports that the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals formed the nation's first Mobile Animal Crime Scene Investigation Unit two years ago - "a rolling veterinary hospital and forensic lab that travels around the country helping traditional law-enforcement agencies follow the evidentiary trails of wounded or dead animals back to their abusers."

In the world of law enforcement, animal-cruelty has traditionally been a peripheral concern, and animal curelty offenses "as removed and distinct from the work of enforcing the human penal code as we humans have deemed ourselves to be from animals. But that illusory distinction is rapidly fading," the Times reports.

Well, we heard back from Bonnie Tormohlen, director of the California Domestic Ferret Educational Alliance, and learned a great deal about her organization's new push to provide temporary shelter to abandoned ferrets, and then to find them safe transport out of state. Ultimately, Tormohlen - and the many ferret fans we heard from - want to make ferrets legal pets in California. Here's what Tormohlen says:

CDFEA was founded by me and a few other ferret lovers officially in 2006. We are a 501c3 charity that primarily provides educational information to ferret owners and advocacy for domestic ferrets in California. Although pet ferrets are still banned as pets in California, it is evident that the ferret "underground" is very much alive, and ferrets are in California to stay. According to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, 27% of all ferret supplies sold in our country are sold within California's borders. The math is fairly simple...that is a lot of ferret food and supplies. As founders of CDFEA, we felt that all those ferrets and their owners were going to need some education and advocacy in their corner. There is nothing illegal in our free enterprise system about selling ferret supplies, likewise, nothing illegal about teaching people how to properly care for their pets.

Last year, the CDFEA board felt there was an obvious and critical need for appropriate sheltering and transportation services for domestic ferrets in California. To that end, we appointed a Sheltering & Transportation Committee to first, approach the California Department of Fish and Game about obtaining a lawful permit to temporarily shelter domestic ferrets whilst humane transportation out of California was sought and provided for them. Policies are procedures for this committee were then drafted and provided to CA F&G for approval. A permit was recently approved for our organization to carry out our stated mission in this regard. The prerequisites for obtaining this permit are quite stringent. CDFEA does not accept private surrenders. Our objective is to temporarily shelter, and ultimately transport out of state, those ferrets that have been turned over to CDFEA by Fish and Game representatives, Humane Organizations and Animal Control. At this time we have only one approved shelter in Southern California. I would love to be able to qualify further personnel and locations. But all this takes money, something we need much more of.

Yes, the National Center for Charitable Statisticssays there are more than 1,300 nonprofits in Orange County in danger of losing their nonprofit status, including moms clubs, dog park associations, high school booster clubs, friends of the library groups, garden clubs and the like.

"Rose Acre Farms is reviewing video tape Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) alleges was filmed at our Iowa farms. If it is determined that Rose Acre Farms animal welfare policy was not followed then corrective action will be taken immediately," says a statement on the firm's web site.

In February and March, the Humane Society sent a mole to work at four different farms owned by two of the nation's largest egg producers. These moles taped images of dead birds rotting beneath the feet of their brethren; of workers yanking and slamming birds into cages; of birds crammed together so tightly they can barely move; etc. Click here for a link to the video and the full report.

"Rose Acre Farms stands behind our commitment to the health and well being of every hen housed at every Rose Acre farm," says the firm's web site. "Our commitment to hen welfare is detailed on this website, and we take great pride in the science and farmer experience that underpins the ways in which our hens are raised and cared for."

The Watchdog endeavors to keep a critical eye on those holding the public trust, and how they spend the public's money. We ask, How much does it cost? Is that the right thing to do? How might we do it better? We bring a consumer-oriented approach to the machinations of local governments, businesses and non-profits, and try to navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of bureacracy for readers caught in whirlpools of red tape. Send tips and other email to watchdog@ocregister.com